Wanted
by Mia Vaan
Summary: Thor 2 AU. He had always longed to be wanted by someone. His mother, his father, his brother, said brother's friends... He never would have guessed he would be wanted by a once insignificant Midgardian girl. And somehow, he didn't seem to mind. Loki/Darcy.
1. Chapter One: Wanted

**Warning: This may be AU, but it still has _massive_ spoilers for _Thor: The Dark World_. Read at your own risk. **

So I saw the film last week, wet my pants laughing at the one-liners... The best part of it? Loki. The guy steals the show. I laughed at his comments, I cried at his reaction to Frigga's death, and then when he appeared to die. Part of me was afraid this was for real, while another part of me knew Marvel wouldn't kill off their best character... And then came that scene with the guard, and then the ending. I sighed with relief.

I ended up writing this as a response, and well... I was aiming for a six-seven page oneshot, not a_ massive twenty-page monster of a story_. I got carried away, I guess.

Please note this is my third attempt at writing something for the Marvel movies. I'm beginning to suspect that I just can't write Marvel... I suppose this oneshot will be the deciding factor whether to write another story or to just give up.

**Reviews will help with that, by the way. Pretty please?**

I should probably mention now that I'm not an Ian basher. I actually adore him. This story just required that he be excluded.

Also, I hope I didn't get anything wrong/muddled up. My memory of what happened isn't at its best. Also, please tell me if you think Loki seems out of character, because to be honest, I really don't know when it comes to the guy. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor, don't own Loki, blah blah blah...

* * *

"_I thought you were getting an intern?" _

"_Nah. The idea didn't last long. None of them were good looking enough." _

"_Wait, so you only wanted an intern because you wanted a boyfriend?" _

"_No! Now keep a look out; I might be able to hit one." _

"_Darcy!" _

"_It worked for you!" _

"_Just focus on driving..."_

* * *

Loki recalled a period during his childhood when nightmares plagued his sleep. Frost Giants would capture him and take him back to Jotunheim, before they would taunt him; they would tell him he would never be a worthy son, would never worth the time of his father, mother and brother, and above all, that he would never be wanted.

The dream had disturbed him every time, enough to cry out upon awakening. Most of the time it had been his mother who came running, and she would comfort him until he slept again. Sometimes his brother had come and promised to chase the nightmares away, one of the few times when Loki hadn't minded his brother's rash behaviour. And on rare occasions, his father would come and tell him stories which would soothe away his worries.

They had all told him the nightmare was just that; a nightmare. There was no truth to it, and there was nothing to worry about.

Looking back on that time, after everything that had happened – Thor's banishment, the discovery of his true origins, his fall off the Bifrost and his attempt to conquer Midgard – Loki supposed he should have paid closer attention to the nightmares. They had been right while his family had been wrong; he was never a worthy son, his family weren't even his real family...

And he was never wanted.

Always turned away from the chance of battle by his brother. Always ignored by his father in favour of said brother. His mother would tell him not to let it get to him; Thor would be king one day, and it was right for him to spend more time with their father. And his brother worried about him, she would say. He was not as strong.

But he knew the truth.

Who could ever want a monster?

And yet that knowledge didn't dull his pain; his longing for someone to want him. To be needed. That was why, he supposed, he allowed his mother to visit him during those endless days in his cell. She had always been there, whenever Odin and Thor were out together. She had taught him the ways of magic; how to use illusions to fool in battle and protect loved ones.

She understood him. Loki felt that despite everything, she still wanted him as a son.

Upon her recent visit, she had asked, "The books I sent; do they not interest you?"

"Is that what I'm supposed to do while away for eternity? Read?" he had replied. But in truth, he was grateful for the books; they reminded him of his old life...before everything had changed...

He complained because he had read them all before, although he didn't want to tell his mother this. Because, as she then said, "I have done everything in my power to make you comfortable, Loki."

"And does Odin share your concern? Or Thor?" He hated them for ignoring him – for turning against him, and allowing him to rot in prison like a common criminal.

It was as if his mother could read his mind, because then she said, "You know full well that it was _your_ actions which put you here."

Just like the good old days, when he got into trouble constantly for mischief, her voice was stern. Scolding. So Loki played along in giving the his usual clever answer. "I was merely giving truth to the lie I've been told my entire life: that I was born to be a king."

"A true king admits his faults," said his mother. "You have yet to take responsibility for any of your choices."

He ignored her words, or at least tried to. To take responsibility for what he had done meant accepting that he was to blame for everything which, as he kept telling himself, he was not. He had only wanted to prove himself; he had only tried to feel wanted. Was there really any blame to be made in that, and in the actions which had followed?

Then Odin had been mentioned – specifically, his mother had referred to the man as 'father', to which Loki yelled, "He's not my father!"

His mother looked put out. "Then am _I_ not your mother?"

Loki hesitated, before he said, "You're not."

Her expression never changed, but Loki knew she was upset. After everything she had done for him... Loki approached her, trying and failing to show her that he was sorry, and that he didn't mean those words, but when he reached out to touch her she vanished.

It was only one of her illusions, as it always was. Odin would never let her into the cell with him, and Loki couldn't blame the All-father for that decision. He was a monster no one wanted.

Only later would his mother's words come back to him.

Things had been ordinary enough when something happened in one of the cells; prisoners begging to be let out, before an explosion destroyed the cell and took the prisoners – along with a guard stood outside – with it. A large figure, one Loki could not describe and had never seen before, stepped out, and it took little time for him to dispose of the guards.

Loki watched with interest as the creature released the other prisoners, but then paused in front of his cell, regarding him. He did not let him out, and Loki suspected this; he didn't look like one who would cause the fuss the creature obviously intended to create.

But, as the creature turned to leave, Loki called out, "You might want to take the east stairs." The creature turned to him once more before heading in the suggested direction.

It had not been long before the Warrior's Three arrived with more guards, ready to detain the prisoners, closely followed by Thor. Loki had ignored them, instead focussing on one of the books his mother had brought him, before a sudden tremble caught his attention. He had, at that moment, realized the prison break had only been a distraction.

Asgard was under attack.

Thor and the warriors left, barely glancing at Loki, who then began to bite his lip with worry. Asgard was with home, and despite everything, he didn't want to see it in ruins. And his mother... Well, she would be in danger, despite the knowledge that she was capable of handling herself.

Loki wasn't sure how long the battle lasted, but after a while the trembling stopped and everything was quiet. The escaped prisoners were taken back to their cells, and everything returned to normal. At first.

When a guard arrived outside his cell, Loki was uncertain what it was about. He doubted they had discovered he had something to do with the attack otherwise Thor or Odin would have come. A normal guard... No. It was something else.

And then the words left his mouth. The words that rocked Loki's world.

His mother was dead.

Killed in battle. Slain by the very creature he had guided to Asgard's defences.

Loki didn't let his emotions show; after a pause he only gave the guard a nod of acknowledgement, allowing him to leave. He then rose from where he was sat, walked into the center of his cell...and let out a blast of magic which knocked everything over.

He lost himself. Furniture was broken. Pages of his books were ripped. His clothes were torn. At some point he caught his foot on something which caused it to bleed, but he didn't feel the pain from the wound. The pain he felt was inside; regret, hate, suffering... He didn't want to blame himself, but he knew the blame was his. The words she had spoken came back to him then...

...along with the last words he had spoken to her.

At some point he ran out of energy and just sat there in his cell, wallowing, until he heard footsteps approaching. He recognized the footsteps.

Thor.

Loki conjured up an illusion of him stood in a tidy cell; he would not let the oaf see him so weak, would not let him know how much he cared... But when Thor arrived and Loki asked why he had come, his brother had said, "No more illusions, Loki."

Part of him was impressed that Thor had finally not fallen for his trick, but another part of him... He let the illusion go, showing just how broken he really was. Thor didn't mock. He didn't comment. He only stared with an expression of understanding. As if he knew all along that despite what Loki had become, he had always loved their mother.

The only one who ever made him feel wanted.

"Did she suffer?" Loki asked.

"No, but I did not come here to share grief," Thor said. "I need your help. I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. If you help me escape Asgard, I will grant it to you; vengeance. And out of this cell."

Loki tried to laugh, but it was weak. "You must be _truly_ desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"

"I _don't_," said Thor. "But Mother _did_."

_She trusted me..._ Loki's smile left his face.

Thor continued, "You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you."

Loki couldn't help but be surprised at Thor's words; that he had hoped to change him, to bring things back to the way they were. Loki wondered that, had he decided to drop his anger, would Thor had still wanted him as a brother?

But that didn't matter. Thor obviously didn't want him now, and while Loki didn't like the idea of teaming up with the oaf... He wanted vengeance. He wanted to uphold his mother's last words; to take responsibility for his actions. He was the reason she was dead, and he would avenge her.

"When do we start?"

Thor's reply was to smash the barrier's of his cell. Loki wanted to comment that hitting doesn't solve everything, but knew Thor wouldn't listen. They hurried down the hallway, and Loki suggested he needed to disguise himself; he did so by turning himself into a guard. When Thor said they needed to be less conspicuous, Loki responded by turning him into Sif.

"Oh brother, you look ravishing," he commented. While he would never admit it aloud, he had always fancied Sif. Unlike the other bubble-headed women in Asgard, she was level-headed and capable in battle, which he admired.

But like the other bubble-headed ninnies, she had fallen for Thor. Loki could never understand why women went for his bone-headed brother instead of him; they all wanted Thor, but never Loki. Even Sif, whom Loki had hoped would know better than to go for the man who always solved everything by hitting things at random.

Contrary, Sif had never even _liked_ him which, two years ago, had hurt him. Not anymore. He supposed Thor's friends never really liked him anyway; they'd only put up with him because Thor always invited him along. The moment they thought he was evil, they didn't hesitate to turn against him. Typical. Never wanted as a friend, either.

But he got over it.

Thor – as Lady Sif – sent him a glare. "It will not hurt any less when I kill you."

Loki prevented himself from commenting that he would _prefer_ Thor to kill him in this form, and instead said, "Perhaps you prefer one of your new companions, given that you seem to like them so much." He turned Thor back to his normal form while he took the form of, in his own words, that annoying star-spangled idiot. "Oh, this it much better! The costume is a bit much – so tight – but the confidence! I can feel the righteousness surging! Hey, want to have a rousing discussion about truth? Honour? Patriotism?"

And then Thor pinned him against the wall, covering his mouth, and Loki changed back into his original form. Loki was about to quip that there was no need to be so drastic – if Thor had wanted him to stop, he could have just asked – until he saw what Thor had seen; two guards passing by.

When they were gone, Loki asked for his daggers. He thought Thor would hand them over – but instead, Thor handcuffed him. Loki hadn't seen this coming, and while he was annoyed...he was also impressed. The trickster, tricked. By his oaf of a brother.

The same oaf who grinned at his achievement before hauling him away down the halls.

It was next to the crashed ship where they met up with Hogun, Sif...and another woman who, Loki realized, was the mortal Thor had fallen for. And then he understood; it wasn't just vengeance Thor was after. He was trying to save his true love, too. Loki nearly rolled his eyes at the very thought.

"You..." Jane's eyes widened when she spotted him.

"I'm Loki. You may have heard of me-"

SLAP!

Loki supposed she would have done this, and he really should have seen it coming in hindsight. He had almost conquered her world, after all. She had a right to be angry.

She had slapped him, and if any other mortal had done that, Loki would have killed them. But Jane... She had guts. She was clever. He had watched her work when she had been with his brother; a mere mortal understood how the universe worked, and he had been grudgingly impressed.

And yet, she had fallen for the oaf that was Thor. He would be forever baffled by what women saw in the man, especially a woman of brains like Jane. She wanted buff muscles, strength, stupidity...

...not brains and cunning, which he had to offer. Not that he wanted to be desired by a mere mortal.

But it would have been something.

"That was for New York!" she declared.

Loki could only smirk in response. "I like her," he said to Thor. She didn't have powers or any skills, and yet she had stood up to him. He could live with that.

Guards arrived, and Thor spoke with Hogun; Loki could only hear part of the plan – something about Hogun staying behind and Sif coming with them – while his focus remained on Jane. She was glaring at him, and he just continued to smirk until Thor led her away.

Then he found a knife at his throat, and looked aside. Sif. "Betray him, and I'll kill you."

He laughed. "A pleasure to see you again, Sif. Joining us, are you?"

"Yes. To make sure you stay in line."

Upon reaching the crashed ship, they saw Volstagg waiting. He told Thor he would hold off the guards, and when Loki went to pass, the man held out an arm. Loki smirked, for he knew what was coming.

"If you even _think_ about betraying him..."

"What, you'll kill me?" The amount of threats he was receiving was beginning to amuse him. "Evidently there'll be a line."

On the ship, Thor attempted to get the thing started – by hitting the control panel. Loki suggested to tap it, to which Thor said he was – and continued hitting it. Sif sighed in the background, obviously just as annoyed as Loki was feeling. Then finally, the ship started up and they took off. Jane and Sif sat down, but Loki couldn't help but stand by Thor's shoulder. He really didn't like the idea of his brother flying this thing.

His fears were met when, in an attempt to turn the ship around, Thor took out more columns than the Dark Elves had done when they crashed the thing.

"I think you missed a column."

"_Shut up!_"

Loki rolled his eyes as they flew out the hall and soared above Asgard. After barely missing some of the watch towers, Loki spoke up, "Look, why don't you just let me take over? I'm clearly the best pilot."

Plus he wanted to get out of the damn handcuffs.

He also wanted to live.

"Is that right?" said Thor. "Out of the two of us, which one can actually _fly_?"

Loki wanted to correct him. Thor didn't actually _fly_; he only hung onto his hammer. Which was just as out of control as the piloting was.

"Thor!" It was Sif, and they turned to discover that Jane had fainted.

"Oh dear, is she dead?" asked Loki. He knew he should sound more concerned, but he really didn't care. Jane was the lucky one; she wasn't witnessing the catastrophe Thor was creating.

Loki hoped that Thor would leave his position to see if Jane was all right, but he didn't; he continued to pilot, which resulted in knocking off the top of a watch tower. "Not a word," he said to Loki.

Honestly, Loki was too busy holding his breath to comment on that particular stunt. But when they were chased, he spoke up, "Now they're following us!" And after a few shots at them... "Now they're _firing_ at us!"

"Yes, _thank you_ for the commentary, Loki! It's not at all distracting!"

If Loki could say anything good about his brother, it was that his sense of humour had improved. But that didn't deduct anything from the terrible piloting; he even ended up taking the head of a statue of King Bor.

"Well done! You just decapitated your _grandfather_!" Loki ignored the knowledge that, two years ago, he would have referred to him as _their_ grandfather.

He wondered whether King Bor would have wanted him.

Above the sea surrounding Asgard, Loki began yelling at Thor for the terrible plan; specifically, how in Hel Thor expect to escape Asgard in a big obvious ship-

He barely registered Sif's wicked grin before she pushed him out of the ship, and Loki yelled in surprise before landing on an Asgardian vessel piloted by Fandral. He commented on the rough landing, but Loki ignored the man; instead he thought over Thor's plan, and how he had lied to him.

Him. The trickster.

"You lied to me... I'm impressed." Thor _had_ got better. He could admit that at least.

Fandral gave him command of the vessel before leaping overboard, landing on the pursuing vessel in order to knock out the guards. Once that was taken care of, Loki steered the vessel towards the series of caves he had explored as a boy; the caves where he had found the secret passages which led between worlds. Thor shouted a warning for no tricks, but Loki knew what he was doing. Whether Thor truly wanted him or not, he was going to get them to the realm of the Dark Elves.

He passage was a tight fit, but they made it through. Loki couldn't help but announce "Ta da!" when they arrived. It was fun. It was in his nature, whether the others liked it or not.

Whether they wanted it or not.

Thor covered Jane with a blanket, and unable to hold back anymore Loki began to question him about her; about how he would only be hurting himself in the end, because Jane's life was short. She was only a moment to them; they would live on, long after she was gone. Thor obviously loved her; losing her would do him no good.

Loki wondered why he was caring about the issue so much. He would want Thor to be in pain after all that had happened. Losing a loved one...

Then he realized why. He had felt great pain upon losing their mother – a pain he did not want to wish upon anyone, even Thor.

Sif agreed with him, which was both a surprise and not. A surprise because she never agreed with him about _anything_. And not, because she loved Thor; she wanted Jane out of the way so she could have the Prince of Asgard to herself. And while it amused Loki that his brother was oblivious to her love, he also felt it would be better for him to pay more attention to Sif.

That's when the argument started. Loki tried to ignore the guilt he felt by doing what he always did; thrusting it upon someone else. He called Thor out. Said he should have been there to protect their mother. Thor shot back that he should have been too, to which Loki replied that he was busy locked up in a cell – where Thor had put him.

"_And who's fault is that?!_" Thor grabbed his collar and raised his hammer.

Sif yelled at them to stop fighting, but Loki didn't really hear her. "MINE! I know it's my fault! Not because I was where I couldn't help her, but because I sent that creature in the right direction! To Asgard's defences! I didn't think! The burden of her death is on me!" He let out deep steady breaths, ignoring Thor's look of shock. "I hate myself for many reasons. I've done many things which I don't want to take responsibility for. But this...this is the worst thing I have ever done. I'm trying to take responsibility for it, like Mother said I should. But if you want to kill me – if you want to take vengeance – then go ahead. I understand."

For a moment, it looked like Thor was going to; his hammer was still raised for the kill. But then he lowered it. "No. Mother would not want us to fight."

There were tears in his eyes. Loki knew his brother hated him, more than he did before. He was still in pain. So, in an effort to lighten the mood, he said, "But she wouldn't be surprised." Because, in all honesty, they had fought many times _before_ the incident two years ago.

Because they were brothers, and that was what they did.

Jane woke up not long afterwards, before the four of them discussed their plan. It was decided that Loki would pretend to betray them; it was a predictable move, and one which wouldn't be met with skepticism. The creature had seen him in the dungeon, which would make it more believable. And then, once the Aether was removed from Jane, they would strike back and destroy it.

They landed the vessel and made their way towards the Dark Elf ship. Malekith was below with part of his army, and after surveying them, the group got within sight.

"You know this plan of yours is going to get us killed?" said Loki.

"I have no intention to die today."

Loki hoped so. He did not want to die, personally...and he'd already lost someone. He couldn't lose anyone else.

He held out his hands, as per the plan, and asked Thor to take the cuffs off. Thor did so after hesitation, and Loki wasted no time in tossing him down the hill. Sif and Jane hurried after them.

Loki kicked Thor across the ground, yelling about how ignorant he was; to believe that someone like him truly loved their mother. Sif attacked, and Loki tossed her aside; he tried to be as light as he could. Seeing the Dark Elves approaching, Loki then created the illusion of cutting off Thor's hand when he tried to call for his hammer. Jane hurried to Thor's side, and Loki picked her up.

He tossed her on the ground before Malekith. "I am Loki of Jotunheim! And I offer this mortal to you! All I ask in return is a front row seat to watch Earth burn!"

"He is an enemy of Asgard," said the creature. "He was in the dungeon."

Loki tried not to smirk; they had fallen for the ruse. Malekith, after kicking Thor himself, lifted Jane from the ground before drawing the Aether out of her. Loki watched, waiting for the right time to strike. It crossed his mind that he could just let this happen; let the Dark Elves destroy Earth, the world he had failed to conquer... Let them destroy the Nine Realms, which had tossed him out wherever he went. None of them accepted him.

None of them wanted him.

But then he saw Thor lying on the ground with Sif by his side, and thought of his mother. No. He had to help. He had to take responsibility for what he had done.

Perhaps then someone would want him.

When the Aether was out of Jane and just about to enter Malekith, Thor gave the signal. Loki dropped the illusion of Thor's severed hand, and while his brother called his hammer Loki took out his daggers and slew the Dark Elves around him. Thor summoned lightning and brought it down upon the Aether. Sif leapt upon Jane to shield her, and without quite realizing what he was doing, Loki leapt upon them both. He could take more than they could. If he died, no one would miss him.

He would be with his mother in eternity.

The dust cleared, and pieces of the Aether floated around them...but then it pulled back into itself, as if it had barely been damaged, before entering Malekith.

And then Malekith ordered for them to be killed.

Thor tried to take off after Malekith while Sif leapt at a group of Elves. Loki prepared to take out his daggers, but then his eye caught sight of the creature throwing a grenade. At Jane.

Loki pushed her aside as it exploded and created a small black hole. Loki was pulled off the ground, sucked towards it. He didn't cry out; he didn't call for help. He prepared for the end; he wondered whether this would be enough to send him to Valhalla where his mother would be waiting, or maybe he had done far too much and was damned to Hel...

He was suddenly tackled aside, and upon landing he looked up to find that Thor had saved him. The look his brother sent him said it all.

What he had said before was a lie; he still thought of Loki as his brother. Loki couldn't help but feel shock.

Maybe he was wanted after all...and if he continued to fight...

Thor took off after the creature, and Loki rose from the ground before joining Sif in the battle. He took out his daggers and slew the surrounding Elves one by one. He tossed a dagger at an Elf who was coming up on Sif's blind spot. And in return – to his great surprise – she cut down one who had been about to stab him in the back.

When they were all down both looked over to Thor; he was on the ground with the creature above him.

Loki felt dread. His mother had wanted him, and she had been killed. Thor still wanted him...and was about to be killed.

Sif reacted before he did. She sprinted across the dirt, jumped off a rock and brought her sword down upon the monster. It went straight through him, and he cried out in pain. Loki began to run over, for he suspected that a monster such as this would not be killed so easily...

And he was right. For seconds later, the monster turned and used the impaled sword to impale Sif as well.

Thor's cry was deafening. Loki screwed his eyes shut, trying to ignore his brother's pain as he grabbed a grenade and activated it, placing it upon the creature. "See you in Hel."

It exploded, and a black hole ripped the monster apart.

Sif collapsed. Thor, still winded from the fight, crawled over to her. Loki could only watch as she took her last breaths, trying to tell Thor that she loved him...but she couldn't get the declaration out in time.

Only when they were walking over to the cliffs to take shelter did Loki realize that he had shed a tear for Sif. He had felt attraction to her, years before, even though she had felt nothing for him. He chalked it up to that.

No one wanted him. He couldn't want anyone in return. It helped ease the pain.

Once they were inside one of the caves, Jane gave her condolences. Thor called Sif a great friend, and an even greater warrior who died in battle – how she had always wanted to go. Loki knew it was what Sif had wanted – to die in battle – but Thor calling her a friend...

"You still don't know, do you, brother?" he said. "She loved you, far more than just a friend. But you never realized, did you?"

Thor's look of confusion said it all. "What?"

"Everyone saw it. The All-father, Mother, the Warriors Three... _I_ saw it." He rose from where he had rested on a rock. "But _you_ never saw, did you? No, instead you decide to go gallivanting off with the first mortal woman you meet." Seeing Jane's put off look, he added, "No offence."

"Some taken."

While Thor was still confused, he announced that it did not matter now; they had to somehow get back to Asgard and warn Odin of what had transpired.

Loki protested. They had committed treason, and had made the situation far worse.

They argued. Again.

Jane broke it up, but not by speaking; her strange Midgardian device began to ring, and she answered in almost embarrassment. "Richard! Hi!"

Loki blinked. Who was this Richard? Jane began to explore the cave, talking to this Richard fellow, telling him to stay on the line... Then she mentioned a date, and Loki's eyebrow raised. Perfect Jane..._not so_ perfect? Seeing another man instead of Thor. He really couldn't help but be amused, and Thor's ever changing expressions just added to it all.

He began to notice what Jane was noticing; Midgardian objects in the cave. Bottles, cans, bricks, a surprising number of shoes... Jane picked up a set of keys which she appeared to recognize.

She gestured for the two to follow, and after exchanging confused glances they did so. Jane then stopped speaking on her device, and they continued to step forwards...

...until suddenly, they were on Midgard. Loki didn't want to be there, but he supposed it was better than Asgard. At least here he wouldn't be locked up – he hoped.

Jane led him and his brother to a car with broken windows, which the keys were undoubtedly for. Loki slipped into the back while Thor squeezed into the front, and after a pause, the latter asked, "Who's Richard?"

Jane just sighed as she started up the car. Loki tried not to burst out laughing at the pair's antics. While he didn't really support the relationship nor did he understand it, he could at least admit now that it was amusing.

They arrived at an apartment which looked modest enough, and Jane used another key to enter. Loki hung back by the door in order to avoid the other Midgardians in attendance – the two whom Jane worked with – and raised an eyebrow when Thor hung his hammer on a coat hook. He was surprised when the hammer didn't just smash to the ground, taking the hook with it; perhaps the hook had done something particularly heroic in order to be deemed worthy? The thought was amusing.

He then heard a familiar voice ask wearily, "Is your brother here?"

Erik Selvig, Loki recalled. The man who had helped him with the wormhole. Loki couldn't resist stepping out from behind his brother, smirking, and greeting the man with a causal, "Hello."

The man's face drained of colour before he muttered, "I need to go change my underwear." He practically sprinted from the room – and only then did Loki realize that the man wasn't wearing any trousers. Disturbing.

"I got Pop Tarts!"

The second Midgardian appeared. Loki recalled her being Jane's research assistant, but he had not paid much attention to her because he had deemed her as useless. But looking at her now – properly – Loki had to admit that for a Midgardian she was...pretty.

She was young. She was innocent. It was like the events of the past two years had barely effected her; she was not broken like Selvig, nor angry like Jane. Loki wondered how someone could remain that happy and positive; it baffled him. Knowing such a secret would have helped him in his darkest hours.

Then she noticed him, and her blue eyes hidden behind her glasses widened slightly – not in fear, but in surprise. She turned to Jane questioningly. "Is that who I think it is?" She gestured to him.

"Yeah, that's him." Jane nodded.

The woman – or girl, he couldn't be sure – looked at him again. Her eyes scanned him, taking him in, before she crossed the small gap separating her from Thor. Loki waited for the insults; he waited for her to tell his brother to keep an eye on him, or the questioning on whether it was a good idea to bring him to Earth...

"Thor, why the hell didn't you tell me your brother was that freaking hot?"

Loki blinked. Twice.

That had _not_ been the reaction he was expecting.

No insults, no fear. He certainly knew what the term 'hot' meant – he ignored how the literal term was actually far from the truth, considering he was the total opposite by heritage – but he was shocked that someone had used it to describe him. Attraction meant want.

Who would want him?

Thor looked just as surprised by the statement, while Jane gave her assistant a shove. "Darcy!"

"What? I'm just saying. Come on, even _you_ have to admit it!"

Jane just rolled her eyes, but Loki realized it wasn't at the absurdity of the statement; just the fact that Darcy – a unusual name, but not a bad one – had blurted it out, something which appeared to be frowned upon.

The Lady Jane thought the same, too?

Loki tried not to think about it when Selvig reappeared, notably calmer than before – and thankfully properly dressed. But he couldn't ignore the fact that Darcy was staring at him; she would look away again when he glanced at her, but when he turned back to the conversation, she would be staring again.

While it was off-putting, he found that it was not unwelcome – something which surprised even himself.

He was able to listen to Selvig's explanation, though. The Convergence had been studied by Midgardians of the past, who had left clues as to where the next one would be. Selvig used these clues as a guide, and calculated that the Convergence would happen in Greenwich; a place not far from where they were.

Another plan was made. Selvig had a device which would control the portal effect, allowing the Convergence to happen without chaos. Something which would also help to defeat Malekith.

Jane and Selvig would calibrate the device. Thor would confront Malekith. And Loki was left...to help Darcy set up the poles needed around the area to allow the device to work. He didn't protest, but he did raise his eyebrow at his assignment.

The next morning Loki wondered how he got stuck with carrying the poles. Darcy hadn't even asked for him to carry them; she'd just dumped them into his arms without so much as a second glance. She hadn't even considered that he could kill her as easily as he could crush a bug.

She had guts. He liked that.

As they made their way over to the next point to place a pole, Darcy spoke with Jane on the phone. While her tone was hushed, Loki could still hear what she was saying. "Yeah, Jane. I know. Look, he's hot, but he's also evil. But if he does something heroic, then I'm not gonna be able to help myself..."

Loki rolled his eyes, but he was smirking all the same.

Darcy hung up before taking out a piece of paper; a map Selvig had drawn the night before. "OK, so you need to put one there." She pointed to a patch of grass.

"Am I going to be setting up _all_ of them?" Loki couldn't help but ask.

"Yep! Hammer away!" Loki glared at her, and she cringed. "Yeah, I can see why you would hate that choice of words. Sorry."

He just ignored her as he began to hammer the pole into the ground. He supposed it could be worse; he could have been stuck with Jane or Selvig, both of whom Loki was certain still didn't trust him.

But Darcy...the night before she had walked over to him, sat down and asked whether he wanted to hear about the pranks she'd pulled in college with her friends.

"Mortals are not creative enough to pull a prank worthy of my time," he'd said.

She'd only raised an eyebrow. "Then you've obviously never seen what bored college kids can do." It was as if she had completely forgotten he'd tried to take over her world no less than a year ago.

He didn't mind her attention. He actually found her rather amusing, for a mortal. And to actually have someone wanting to spend time with him...it was a nice change, he could admit that.

He glanced up at her; she had taken her glasses off from the night before, revealing her very blue eyes which were actually rather attractive... Loki quickly dismissed the thought and concentrated on hammering.

The sound of something hitting the water made him look up, his gaze settling upon the river. Something big was moving through it, but whatever it was couldn't be seen... He stopped hammering when realization hit him.

"Uh...is that...?" Darcy's words were lost when the Dark Elf ship appeared, looming towards them. The people around them began to scream.

The bottom of the ship crashed through the ground, leaving behind a huge crack as it made its way forwards. Loki found himself grabbing Darcy before dragging her behind him as they ran; she stumbled in her effort to keep up. Loki knew he was faster than her – she was only mortal – but also knew that if he slowed down for her sake, they would be crushed.

They were able to get out of the way, and watched from a safe distance as Thor landed before Malekith with his hammer ready. Loki looked up at the sky and saw the realms aligning; they were running out of time.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to Darcy. "Come on! We need to get the last one in!" He relented to her tugging and ran to the next location.

Once the last pole was in the ground they ran back to where the ship had landed, and Darcy took out her phone to contact Jane.

"I sincerely hope you mortals know what you're doing," Loki voiced.

"We're smarter than we look," said Darcy. Then to Jane over the phone, she said, "We're all set, Jane."

The two watched the Dark Elves crowding around Thor...before one of them disappeared through a portal.

Loki's eyebrows raised; he had to admit, he was impressed that these mortals were able to understand and harness the powers of the Nine Realms. "Impressive."

"That was awesome!" Darcy cheered. "Again! Get that one with the big gun!"

Loki was about to point out that all of them had big guns...before suddenly they found themselves in another street a few blocks away.

Darcy looked around in confusion. "This isn't right."

Loki just sighed before he took off at a jog back towards the site, Darcy behind him. A Dark Elf suddenly appeared before them, and the two paused and ran in another direction as it started firing. Another then appeared and did the same.

Then suddenly they slipped through another portal and were in another part of London entirely.

"Mortals," Loki muttered. He had a feeling Jane would lose control of the device.

"I kinda have to agree with you there," said Darcy with a shrug.

The Dark Elves appeared behind them, still in pursuit, and Loki found himself grabbing Darcy by the arm before dragging her behind him. Only later did he question why he had done this; he didn't have time to question his actions when it had been happening, which he supposed was the result of adrenaline. As they ran he took out a dagger and threw it behind him, before doing the same with a second; both hit their targets, and the two Elves dropped.

The pair ran through a screaming crowd before disappearing once again through another portal. Only this one didn't lead to another part of London. Or even another part of Earth.

This one led to Asgard – specifically, the throne room, which held Odin and several guards. All of whom only stared at the pair in confusion.

Loki just gave them all an innocent smirk. "Not that I don't love our chats..." He then grabbed Darcy's arm again – the _same_ arm she was using to _wave_ at them – before hurrying back the way they came and out through the same portal.

While Loki was annoyed by the chaos of the Convergence, the sight which met them upon arriving back on Midgard was most amusing. Thor and Malekith falling out of the sky, landing on a tall, glass building...and sliding down it with their faces pressed against the window.

"At least someone's having a worst time than we are," said Darcy.

The pair took off again and slipped through another portal. They ended up close to the site where the ship was, but just as they were about to make a run for it, a large beast which Loki recognized from Jotunheim appeared. It was more focussed on the Dark Elves it was chasing, and only passed them.

This didn't stop Darcy from turning and running from it, pulling out of Loki's grip. When Loki turned to see where she had gone, he saw that a Dark Elf had begun to corner her. He would later deny it, or pass it off as something else, but at that moment panic seized him. He reached for a dagger, but found he was out. He then hurriedly looked for something else to use – and found a car which was levitating, an effect of the Convergence.

He grabbed it before slamming it down on top of the Dark Elf.

Darcy yelped in surprise, but when she saw Loki her eyes widened slightly. "You...you saved me."

Loki just shrugged. "I would have killed it anyway. You were just...its target." He noticed her stepping closer towards him, a smile appearing on her face as her eyes never left him.

He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but within seconds she had grabbed him, dipped him, before her lips crashed into his.

His first reaction was to pull away, but that instinct only lasted a second before he realized that someone was actually _kissing_ him. _Him_. The monster who children believed hid under their beds. Kissing meant desire. Kissing meant attraction.

Kissing meant wanting.

Someone wanted him.

She was mortal, but who was he to complain? He kissed back.

Part of him realized they had been transported, but he didn't care. He only realized where they had been transported to when a shocked, feminine voice spoke up. "_Darcy?!_"

Loki found himself dropped, and looked aside to find Jane and Selvig standing a few feet away. They were staring in shock. Unable to comprehend that someone would want to kiss him.

Well, someone did, and they would have to get used to it. Loki smirked.

"Jane?!" Darcy stared at her friend, embarrassed that she'd been caught.

"Loki?" Selvig just stared down at him.

Loki just sent him a nod. "Dr. Selvig."

"Mew-Mew?" Loki looked up to see what she had spotted, and saw Thor's hammer fly past. He briefly wondered where its owner was.

Thor and Malekith crashed down next to the ship, and while Thor caught his breath, Malekith was able to unleash the power of the Aether. Loki watched with Darcy by his side; his heart sank, watching the man who had killed his mother winning, knowing there was probably nothing which could be done...

But then Thor grabbed the poles of the device – Loki decided against complaining about how long it had taken for him to hammer them into the ground – and struggled to approach the Elf. He threw them at Malekith; with each pole that hit, part of the Elf's body was transported away, until he vanished and the chaos stopped.

But Thor lay unconscious on the ground.

Jane was first to react, hurrying to his side. Loki saw the ship starting to tip, so ran to join her with Darcy; they attempted to drag Thor out of the way, but the oaf was too heavy with his armour. Jane laid herself across Thor, as if that would help, while Darcy did the same across her friend. Loki still didn't see the use...but seeing that the ship was still falling, he found himself going against his better judgement and proceeded to shield them all.

Death never came.

Loki looked up to find that the ship had vanished, and then saw that Selvig had transported it away.

Thor woke up moments later – too late, but better late than never. He hugged Jane, gave Darcy a friendly smile...and then his eyes met Loki's. The smile widened and he patted his brother on the back.

It was enough for Loki. His brother still wanted him as a brother. And a hug would have been too much.

After the trudge home Thor announced he had to go back to Asgard to sort things out. He asked Loki to accompany him; to prove to their father that he had changed, and that he was a hero. Loki declined; in his eyes, Odin would only lock him up again, no matter what good he had done. He would rather not risk it. Thor understood.

This was how he ended up sitting at the breakfast table with Jane, Darcy and Selvig, an uneasy silence hovering over them all.

"So...when do you think Thor will be back?" Jane asked.

Loki replied, "I honestly don't know. But he should be back soon."

"But he was gone for a year last time..." said Darcy. "Then he sort of came back...and was gone for another year."

Jane just sighed, her expression hopeless.

But then came the familiar sound of thunder, along with the very familiar flash of light which only meant the Bifrost. And then there was Thor, stood out on the balcony. Jane was on her feet and hurrying over to him in seconds. Selvig was behind her, although it was more him wanting to get away from Loki rather than going to see Thor.

Darcy hung back. "You gonna go see him?" she asked.

"I have seen him most of my life," replied Loki. "Let him reunite with his woman."

She shrugged in agreement. "Fair enough." She then raised an eyebrow. "You sticking around, too?"

He regarded the question for a second. The only reason he had remained with the three mortals was because he was certain his brother would come back to them, but afterwards... He hadn't really thought about what he would do afterwards.

Going back to Asgard was out of the question, for they still hated him there, no matter what Thor must have said about him. None of the other realms were much of an option, either.

Midgard... Before, he had hated the place. But now his brother was here, as was the mortal girl sat before him. Here, he realized, he was wanted. And wasn't that what he'd longed for all along?

He had always longed to be wanted by someone. His mother, his father, his brother, said brother's friends... He never would have guessed he would be wanted by a once insignificant Midgardian girl. And somehow, he didn't seem to mind.


	2. Chapter Two: Typical

So I really was meaning for this story to be a oneshot, but then I got all this feedback which gave me all these new ideas, and... Well, they took on a life of their own, so I decided to continue.

This chapter is basically the film like the previous one, but from Darcy's POV. It'll probably be like that; a chapter from Loki's POV, and then from Darcy's. Although later chapters probably won't be as long as this one and the one before. Oh, and like before, I probably got some of the lines wrong, but because it's been a while since I've seen the movie, I can't exactly remember all of them.

As for Darcy... Why the hell did I choose the two most difficult characters to write? I guess that's why they go so well together. :D Please tell me if she seems out of character.

Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

**IMPORTANT: I really am sorry to say this, but as it turns out, I won't be continuing this story after all. While some of it is because my muse failed me, most of it is because I really don't know where to take the story without making it cliched and writing the characters OOC. Besides, I think I've left the story at a nice place with Darcy's POV of the film, so at least that's good. Again, I'm really sorry. :(**

* * *

Darcy Lewis always used to wonder why the other children would never play with her. From what she could recall in her earlier years, her school mates would put up with her for five minutes tops before finding an excuse to abandon her and go play something else. It was only later, during a teacher assessment, that she realized it was her loud mouth which scared them away. It was typical.

Her mother would always tell her to be herself; a friend would never really _be_ a friend if she lied in order to get one. Darcy could understand this, but it still didn't change the fact that no one wanted her. She was always left alone, no matter what she tried. She even tried pretending to be different, something her father had suggested; but after a while she would break character, and people would run again. Typical.

It had only been in college when she'd found a group of friends who, if not liked her, put up with her at least. They were a fan of her pranks, that was for sure. But they would always find a way to excuse themselves from her; go out partying while conveniently forgetting to ask her if she wanted to come too, or purposely suggest doing something she didn't like. Always so typical.

Darcy didn't want to feel selfish in her desire to be wanted, but...

She sighed, pushing the thought from her mind as she turned the spare key in the lock of Jane's apartment (or rather, Jane's mother's apartment). At least things weren't as bad as before, she reasoned. She knew the only reason Jane had taken her on as an intern was because she was the only one who'd applied, and like many times before, Jane would always find an excuse to get away from her. At least Jane's reasons were more believable; science stuff which Darcy herself didn't understand. Which was, yes, just typical.

After meeting Thor, things had changed. Jane talked to her more often; she confided in her, and it didn't take long for Darcy to realize that she'd made a friend. They hung out more. Jane would take time to explain the science stuff to her. Things had gotten to the stage when Darcy quit her college course (Political Science was boring anyway, and she'd only taken it to make her father happy) and became a full-time assistant. Paid, too.

It had given her the confidence to get herself an intern of her own – but that had gone down the drain pretty quickly. College kid after college kid had come in, one by one; some she saw were obvious Thor fanboys, who she had to turn away, while others left themselves – because of her. Typical.

So much for getting herself a boyfriend. But then she reasoned that none of them had been good looking enough, anyway.

"Jane, it's me!" she called out, expecting to hear a groan in response – followed by her boss trudging into sight, wearing pyjamas and eating ice cream with a shovel. Which was typical of her recently.

Thor leaving had really put her in a mood. Darcy wanted to support her friend – for she was her first friend and she didn't want to lose her – but 'sulky Jane' was getting on her nerves.

So part of her was relived when there came no reply – but part of her was curious, too. "Erik?" she tried, although she didn't expect an answer. Erik had been in a worse state than Jane since the Battle of New York, for obvious reasons. She hadn't seen him, but the SHIELD report pretty much summed it up – that he'd gone looney.

Realizing there was no one home, Darcy began to snoop. She figured this was another reason people didn't want to be friends with her, and part of her understood that – but another part of her couldn't help herself, because it was who she was and she couldn't be anyone _but _herself. Besides, she reasoned, it wouldn't hurt to at least find out where Jane had gone.

The calendar and open planner eventually clued her in; Jane had gone on a date. Which meant, to Darcy's delight, that 'sulky Jane' was no more.

She was about to head out when something began to beep. Having worked with Jane for over two years, Darcy knew that when something beeped, something was happening – something scientific, which Jane understood and she _didn't_. Always so typical.

Darcy followed the beeping into the office filled with equipment covered in dust, having been untouched for most of the past year. Jane hadn't wanted to work on it, and Darcy couldn't blame her. What was surprising was that SHIELD hadn't nagged either of them to 'get back to work'. Darcy had even hidden her Ipod under the couch cushions in case they came back and cleared everything out again.

She and Jane had come to London investigating a weird alignment – or convergence, as a rambling Erik had called it over the phone – but it hadn't been long before Jane gave up and started eating ice cream with a shovel. Not that it would've made a difference; nothing had been happening, and their equipment had lain dormant.

Until now. Darcy saw a small hand-held device on the desk and noticed that it was beeping. "Malfunctioning?" she thought aloud to herself. There was an image of the Earth on the screen, and it kept on beeping and flashing. Darcy hadn't a clue what it was doing or what it meant, so she did the only thing she knew.

She hit it on the desk. Hard.

Nothing. Typical, as always.

She sighed, before grabbing her keys and leaving the apartment with the device in hand. At least now, she reasoned, she had an excuse to visit Jane on her date. Probably wouldn't stop Jane from yelling at her, though.

Jane's attention to detail had bothered her in the past, but on this day Darcy thanked her friend for the weird quirk, for Jane had written down every detail about the date; the time, the place, the guy's name, and she'd even written down which table had been reserved for them. So it wasn't too hard to find her friend.

Darcy laughed to herself at what had also been written down; 'Beautiful scientist seeks bubbly Brit for good times and possible long-term relationship'. It had been the description on her profile page on the dating website. For being the smart scientist she was, Jane knew nothing when it came to dating.

But then again, neither did Darcy. Typical on so many levels.

Darcy found Jane sat opposite someone who looked a bit like the guy from _Bridesmaids_, and when Darcy approached they both looked up. The guy – Richard, wasn't it? – didn't look surprised, while Jane's eyes widened.

"Hi, can we get some wine?" asked Richard.

Darcy smiled. "Sure, I'd love some." Only later did she realize that he'd mistaken her for a waitress – which was when she hit herself for not realizing at the time. It was mistakes like that – oblivious to everything around her, or at least the little things – which made people dislike her, and she knew it. Still, it was an easy mistake to make; she'd worked as a waitress once. Typical job, typical mistake.

Jane just sighed. "Richard, this is Darcy. She's my research assistant."

"That's me!" said Darcy, before turning and mouthing to Jane, 'he's cute', while giving her a thumbs up. The guy was no Thor, sure, but he was a looker.

Plus, not everyone had massive abs. Or was a God. Or had the abs of a God. Typical.

She saw Jane obviously trying to ignore it. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Darcy reached over to another table and pulled a chair up, ignoring Richard's surprised expression, "I show up to work at the lab slash your mum's house, fully expecting you to be moaping around in your pyjamas, eating ice cream and obsessing about you-know-who..."

As she spoke, she picked up a slice of bread and a knife, and used said knife to apply butter to the bread. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it was eleven thirty – a whole hour or no food. Torture. She ignored Jane's death glare and obvious unspoken plea to leave – when had _that_ become typical behaviour? – since she needed to show her friend the device.

When she mentioned 'you-know-who', Richard suddenly nodded in understanding. "Ah."

"But you're not!" Darcy continued, stuffing the bread into her mouth while looking her friend up and down; she looked good for someone who had still been in her pyjamas eating ice cream the day before. "You're wearing lady clothes, and you've showered; you smell good."

"Is there a point to all this?" asked Jane, interrupting. "Because there really needs to be a point to all this."

Darcy could see the annoyance in Jane's eyes, and felt a painful flash of hurt at the thought of her friend abandoning her. But the flash was gone as quickly as it came, and Darcy nodded in order to move things along quicker; she'd always been so good at hiding those occasional flashes. She didn't want pity. "Right." She took out the device and showed it to Jane. "Do you know all that scientific equipment you don't look at anymore? You might wanna start looking at it again. This is the reason we came all the way out here."

Jane took it and frowned. "It's malfunctioning..."

"That's what I said." Jane then proceeded to hit it against the table, in the exact same manner Darcy had done before. "That's what I did!" She'd been hoping Jane would do something more...smart with it. Had she really gotten that rusty over the past year? She voiced this. "I was hoping you would do something a little more scientific."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Jane handed the device back to her, smiling politely at Richard in an 'I'm so sorry for my friend' kind of way. Darcy had gotten used to those kind of smiles; from her parents, her teachers, her room mates, now Jane... Typical.

Darcy just shrugged. She was no scientist, but... "It doesn't _look_ like nothing. It kinda looks like the readings Erik was rambling about." She turned to the confused-looking Richard. "Our friend, Erik; he kinda went banana balls." She gestured to her head and made swirly motions in case he didn't get it. She liked making hand gestures.

"I'm sure he's not interested."

"I'm interested!"

"No, we're not interested." Jane sent Darcy a stern look. Her stern looks were similar to the ones her father would always give her when she'd done something wrong – which was mostly all the time. It kinda freaked her out, too, since her father was a dude and Jane was a woman. "Time for you to go now." She pointed to the door before turning to smile at Richard.

Darcy knew when she wasn't wanted (typical) and she supposed she should leave Jane on her date – even though she still totally shipped her friend with the God from the Realm of Hunk. "OK." She rose and dragged the chair back to its original table, flinching when it scraped the floor loudly. She mouthed 'sorry' to Jane before hurrying away.

She tried to ignore Jane's comment of, "She needs help." She didn't need help; she just wanted to feel...well, wanted for who she was. By _anyone_. Part of her dared herself to go off and investigate the readings herself.

But when she got in the car outside, she waited. Because she knew her friend; Jane was a scientist, and a love-struck one at that. She'd come. It was typical of her.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Jane hopped into the car next to her. "You're unbelievable."

"Don't blame me, blame the equipment. Or whatever's causing it to go batshit," Darcy said back. "Do you want to go change first?"

Jane just shook her head before Darcy drove away. Darcy briefly wondered why Jane would want to investigate in a dress, but then saw that her friend was wearing jeans underneath. Half-hearted attempt. She still wasn't over Thor, but was trying to make it look like she was. Typical Jane.

Darcy was proud that she could see right through Jane – that meant they were _close_ friends. An achievement, to be sure.

Jane then asked, "I thought you were getting an intern?"

Darcy ignored the pang in her stomach and replied while forcing a smile, "Nah. The idea didn't last long. None of them were good looking enough."

"Wait, so you only wanted an intern because you wanted a boyfriend?" asked Jane. She thought Darcy was serious.

"No!" Darcy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Now keep a look out; I might be able to hit one." She smirked at her achievement; making a joke about herself and making a reference to Jane and Thor's meeting at the same time. Sometimes she slayed herself.

Jane, apparently, didn't think it was funny. "Darcy!"

"It worked for you!"

"Just focus on driving." She took out her phone to try and get a hold of Erik, and Darcy resisted the urge to tell her it was no use; they'd both tried for months, but he wasn't replying.

They knew he was alive; SHIELD had told them so. But where he was? It was classified, apparently. Typical.

Levels 5, 6, 7... Darcy had no clue what they meant, and had felt stupid after asking what video game they had to play in order to reach those levels. The agent she'd asked hadn't been amused. Typical, again.

"I've totally mastered London driving," she spoke aloud, making a sharp turn into an abandoned industrial complex, or...whatever. Darcy didn't really care where they were.

Upon arrival they climbed out and looked around. Jane held out the device in front of them. "It's this way." She began to walk towards one of the buildings.

Darcy sighed; she didn't like the look of this. "How come these things never happen in a nice park? I like parks." But she followed Jane anyway.

The buildings were old and decaying, and Darcy didn't like the looks of them; but then again, she doubted anyone _would_ like the looks of them. It was creepy, and she wanted to get this over with as fast as humanely possible. It didn't help when they found heavy, metal shipping containers stacked together like child's building blocks. "This is...strange," said Jane.

"You mean stranger than usual?" asked Darcy. "I think we've seen stranger."

"They look like the stones at Stonehenge," said Jane. "I wonder if there's a connection..."

Darcy's eyebrows raised. "You mean whatever did this could have done the same to the stones five thousand years ago?" When Jane sent her a surprised look, Darcy only shrugged. "What? I notice these things."

It was something she was proud of. For all her obliviousness, Darcy could be observant when she needed to be; she could point out the things no one else had noticed. She'd seen Thor in the cloud when he'd first arrived, noted that people could worship his people as Gods, and had also seen the Avengers on TV when everyone else, Jane included, had been otherwise occupied.

It at least gave her the assurance that she wasn't all flawed; that there were still good things about her which other people could see if they tried.

There was a sudden noise, followed by footsteps, and both women looked around cautiously. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Jane called out.

"We're American," Darcy called out hopefully.

"I don't think that'll help," Jane whispered.

The footsteps got closer...before three children appeared from around the corner; two young ten-year-olds, girl and boy, who were accompanied by a boy of about fifteen. They all looked to be of Indian decent.

"Well, that was anti-climatic," Darcy commented. Typical. She'd half-expected a monster of some kind, despite it being the least wanted thing on her list of typical things one could find in abandoned buildings.

"Just kids." Jane sighed. "It's OK, we won't hurt you."

"Are you the police?" the younger boy asked.

Jane shook her head. "No, we're scientists." Darcy wondered briefly if that was any better.

"We only found it," said the girl.

And then Jane blinked in surprise; she exchanged a look with Darcy, who only shrugged, before they allowed the children to lead them through the building. They arrived in a doorway leading into a large hall, which had a truck sitting in the centre. The elder boy walked over to it before gently attempting to lift it.

The truck lifted, before beginning to turn on its side in mid-air. Darcy's jaw dropped; yeah, this was definitely the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. "That doesn't seem right."

"It's amazing," Jane exclaimed. "And the readings are off the charts!" She gestured to the device in her hand.

"And there's more," said the girl. The kids then led them to a staircase, where the younger boy picked up a bottle and dropped it down. It looked like it was going to hit the bottom floor, but then it suddenly vanished.

Only to reappear again high above them, drop down the way it had come...and then reappear again...

Darcy reached out and grabbed the bottle, stopping the cycle. She smiled; she had to try it herself. "Jane, give me your shoe."

Jane just ignored her and instead threw a can over the side. But unlike the bottle, it didn't come back.

"Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't," said the younger boy with a shrug. The girl then picked up a brick and threw it down; it came back once, but when it disappeared for a second time it vanished.

Excited, Darcy grabbed something out of her pocket and threw it. It vanished and didn't come back, and only then did Darcy realize...

"Were those the car keys?" asked Jane.

Darcy cringed. _Just_ typical. "Maybe. Now give me your shoe." But Jane wandered off, still following the readings, so Darcy instead turned to the elder boy stood next to her. "You, give me your shoe." He just sent her a weird look. Typical.

Darcy wasn't sure where the time went, but when she finally turned her attention away and looked around, Jane was nowhere in sight. Her friend had wandered off, she knew that...

She looked at her watch. It had been an hour. Jane should have been back.

"Fun time's over, kiddies," she announced. "We need to find Jane."

The kids nodded before splitting up, searching each part of the buildings for any sign of Jane. Darcy found herself ignoring the earlier creepiness of the buildings as determination set in; Jane had been her first friend, and she didn't want to lose her to some weird shit happening around them.

She hoped that Jane hadn't stumbled into one of those weird portal things – becoming one of the objects which didn't come back.

Darcy and the kids searched for another three hours. But there was no sign of Jane, and Darcy grew worried.

"We should call the police," she said. She knew Jane wouldn't like it; phoning the police would attract the attention of SHIELD, who Jane still didn't trust. Despite working for them. Typical Jane.

The kids looked equally against the idea. "No. If they find us here, they'll take us away."

"Look, my friend's missing," Darcy explained. "I need to find her. You guys can run off and hide; I won't tell them you were here."

They did that. Typical. Darcy phoned the police and explained what had happened, which took a good twenty minutes ("Yes, that really _is_ a type of science. No, we're not part of that crazy cult group. Typical."), and then the police themselves took a good forty minutes to arrive. Darcy wondered how the city functioned with them. Typical.

She was giving a statement to one officer when she saw a figure stumble out of a nearby building. At first she thought it was one of the kids, but then she recognized the jacket...

"Jane!" Darcy sprinted over to her friend and hugged her. "You're OK!"

But Jane wasn't pleased to see _her_. "You called the police? Darcy, what were you thinking?! Now SHIELD will be crawling all over this place doing their...'Area-51-ing'! We had a stable gravitational anomaly, unprecedented access-"

"But what was I supposed to do?" Darcy interrupted. The least Jane could do was thank her for being worried, because that's what friends did. No, instead Jane yells at her for it. Typical. "You were gone for five hours!"

Jane's eyes widened slightly. And only then did Darcy notice that it was raining, and neither of them were getting wet.

They looked around. Things were definitely getting weird, Darcy decided. She then noticed that Jane's eyes had widened further, before she began to walk over to a few of the upturned shipping crates. That's when Darcy saw what – or rather, _who_ – her friend had spotted.

Thor.

He'd come back.

Which explained all the weirdness. Typical.

Darcy smiled...but then that smile faded when the heavy rain began to hit her. She didn't have an umbrella, and she wasn't close enough to any cover. What was more, the 'no-rain' effect was following Jane as if she was more important.

"Typical." Darcy pulled her coat up over her head before running over to where several police officers had taken cover. "So, er..." she began, looking at them hesitantly, "turns out my friend's fine. She's over there, right now, talking to her boyfriend."

"You said she's your boss?" asked one officer. "We need to speak with her."

"Right." Darcy looked over at the reunion, and waited for about a minute before sprinting back over. "Hey!"

Jane looked mildly annoyed, but Thor only smiled. And then when Jane saw Darcy's coat over her head... "Oh, Thor, you might wanna..."

Thor got the message, and the rain stopped. "Hey, they wanna talk to you about something." Darcy gestured to the police, and with a sigh, Jane hurried over to them, leaving Darcy with Thor. She looked him up and down; somehow he'd gotten bigger, and his hair had gotten a whole lot longer. "Look at you, still all muscly and everything." She poked him, feeling said muscles on his arms, part of her wishing she had a boyfriend of her own... "So how's Space?"

"Space is fine." They then both looked over at Jane, who was talking to one of the officers. He was saying something about the area being private property, saying they were trespassing and that they had to come down to the station. He tried to grab Jane...

...but was suddenly thrown back by a huge blast of energy, which smashed the windows of the cars around them.

Thor hurried over to Jane with Darcy behind him. "What the hell, Jane?!"

"Are you all right?" Thor helped her to her feet.

"I feel...weird..."

The police took out their guns. "Stay back! She's dangerous!"

Thor twisted his hammer in his grip as he sent the officer a glare. "So am _I_." And then, before Darcy realized what was happening, Thor took Jane into his arms and was sucked away by a bright flash of light.

It was the way to travel to Asgard, Darcy recalled, and stepped forwards towards where her friend had been as she looked up at the sky in wonder. "Shit." Jane was gone. Thor was gone.

And they hadn't invited her. Typical.

"Bloody hell," an officer swore.

Darcy turned to them all, before a smirk crossed her face. "You do know that was Thor, right?"

Their eyes suddenly widened in recognition. After that, it was unsurprisingly easy to deal with them; Darcy explained that she and Jane were investigating strange happenings caused by Thor's arrival, and after that the police let her go. Knowing one of the Heroes of New York paid off. Typical in a good way.

But then she realized that she didn't have the keys to the car, nor did she have her purse. And the apartment was miles away. Typical in a bad way.

She thanked herself that she'd learnt the art of lock-picking during college, which she used to get into the apartment after the long hike back. The first thing she did was shower, because the rain had made her hair frizzy and she hated it when her hair got the frizzies. Her clothes were dumped in the wash and she put on some of Jane's; she knew her friend wouldn't mind (she also wasn't there to argue, which was a bonus), plus she was too lazy to hike all the way up to her own place.

After all that was done, Darcy sat herself down on the couch to await Jane's return.

And she waited.

And waited.

_And_ waited.

She found herself looking at her watch every few minutes. She tried to take her mind off things by watching some TV (how did Britain have all the best TV shows?). She even opened up a box of Pop Tarts to eat.

It was evening when she finally decided to act; Jane obviously wasn't coming back any time soon, and Darcy had no clue what she was supposed to be doing. She tried phoning SHIELD, and while on hold she tried to ignore the growing fear within her; had Jane really abandoned her for Thor that easily? She couldn't blame her, because Thor was freaking hot and a freaking God. But it still didn't take away the pain. Her friend was probably in the middle of their wedding without inviting her. Typical. Darcy had been hoping to be Jane's Maid of Honour ever since she'd hooked up with the Thunder God.

When SHIELD didn't answer, Darcy tried Erik again. She left one message, and then another, and then another... But they were basically all the same; her begging for help because she had _no freaking clue_ what she was supposed to be doing.

Jane had left her, and so had Erik. Both knew what this science stuff was about, while she didn't. Typical.

Then a report on the TV caught her attention; she heard the reporter mention something about Stonehenge, and recalling what she had observed earlier today, Darcy hung up the phone and turned to watch.

She expected weird magic voodoo to be happening there. She didn't expect to see Erik running around with science equipment while wearing his birthday suit.

He'd been arrested, as well.

Typical. Just typical.

Darcy watched long enough to find out where he was being held before phoning up the mental institution. Thankfully it was in London, not far from where she was. She phoned them up, and after fibbing a little about being Erik's daughter, she was able to convince the institution to release him to her. "I just want my Daddy back..." she had said, faking a sob. It had worked. Typical that these people always fell for shit like that. She couldn't complain, since it certainly made her life easier.

The next day she arrived at the front desk, and the woman behind it handed her the necessary forms for her to fill out. Along with a huge bag of meds. Part of her wondered whether the meds had made him crazy instead of Thor's evil brother. It would be typical.

When the forms were signed Darcy looked up to see Erik being led out by a doctor; his face was distance, as if he wasn't sure where he was or what was going on, and briefly Darcy thought that maybe the whole brainwashing business had effected him a lot more than she'd first thought. Maybe the brainwashing bug had come back? Or maybe it had damaged his brain so much that he was slowly "shutting down", as he would say.

She approached him cautiously. "Um..." She almost called him by name, but realized quickly that this would blow her cover. But she couldn't exactly call him 'Dad', either. That would make him even more confused than he already looked. "Hey... It's me, Darcy. Do you remember me?"

Erik looked up before studying her. At first he looked confused, but then his eyebrows knotted together as he attempted to recall her...and then his entire face changed to show relief. "Darcy!"

And then he was upon her, hugging her tightly. Darcy knew that Erik had never really been the hugging type; she supposed it was just more after effects. And at least the hug made the whole father-daughter thing more convincing.

"Yes, I missed you, too," said Darcy, patting his back. "And please, I hate doing this science shit alone, so don't ever leave me again, OK?" He just continued to hug her, a lot longer than was necessary... "Can you let go of me now?"

He did, with hesitance, before collecting his equipment. He then handed the equipment to Darcy without even asking her, which caused her to sigh; she was back to being the intern again. Always carrying the equipment around. Typical. At least this time she could understand; Erik wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to be carrying the stuff. Apart from his bag of meds.

Darcy clumsily carried the equipment down the hallways leading out of the institution; she wasn't doing a very good job. "So what's with this whole 'running around naked' business?"

"I had a God in my head; I don't need anymore excuses than that."

She shrugged; typical, but fair enough. When they got outside Erik paused, and Darcy almost crashed into him. She followed his gaze up into the sky; a flock of birds were flying around, but not in the way they usually did. It was as if they could see something no one else could, and were avoiding these objects like the plague. Or like Justin Bieber. Typical.

But then, suddenly, they vanished.

More portals?

Darcy and Erik looked around, wondering where they would appear...and suddenly the birds were at their feet, flying out of another portal. Darcy screamed as several almost flew into her face; she crossed her legs, begging for them to not fly up her skirt. Erik, for his part, smiled.

Typical crazy scientist.

"You're smiling. Why are you smiling?" asked Darcy. "We almost got Hitchcock-ed by a flock of birds!"

"Apologies," said Erik, as he threw the bag of meds into the bin. "But it's always comforting to know that the world is crazier than you are."

Typical. But understandable. The pair took a taxi back to the apartment, and using the spare key Darcy had found earlier, they were able to enter. Along the way, Darcy had explained everything to Erik; the weird portals she and Jane had found, the readings, how Jane had disappeared, Thor's arrival...

Erik got to work fast. At first he changed into a shirt and tie, but he forgot his pants and continued working. When Darcy pointed it out to him, he said that the less clothes he wore, the better he thought.

Which explained the whole 'running around naked' thing. Typical.

He then laid out the equipment, drew maps, made charts... As he was doing this, he rambled about things she didn't understand, and didn't _try_ to understand; when it came to techno-babble, Erik was worse than Jane. And while she considered him a friend, she didn't really think of him as a _friend_ friend. He was more like an eccentric uncle who everyone tried to ignore but couldn't bring themselves to hate. She'd never had one of those, but she'd always wanted one.

Erik continued working late into the evening, and it was then that the front door opened and Jane hurried in, wearing some kind of Asgardian dress, with Thor not far behind her. Darcy thought she saw a third person, but her attention was entirely on Jane.

"Jane!" She hurried over to her friend and hugged her, before pulling back and giving her a shove. "You should have invited me? I was worried, and I had to try and do the work all by myself!"

"Oh, poor you." She was smiling, which meant she was teasing. Typical. "And you found Erik?" she asked, noticing the pantless man in the background.

"Yeah! We should totally celebrate! I'll get the Pop Tarts!" Darcy ran from the room and into the kitchen.

While she opened the cupboard to grab the boxes – she grabbed several of them, knowing how big an eater Thor was – she heard Erik greet the two as well, before asking Thor, "Is your brother here?" Typical. Although Darcy couldn't blame him. But then there was an unnatural silence before Erik then said, "I need to go change my underwear."

Darcy didn't think much of it as she re-entered the room with the boxes of Pop Tarts; she placed them on the table and looked up, in time to see Erik disappear into another room. With a shrug, she turned to the others. "I got Pop Tarts!"

That's when she noticed the third figure stood next to Thor. He was another Asgardian; she knew this because of what he was wearing. But her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she figured out exactly who this was.

She hadn't met him the first time, and she'd only seen brief clips of him during the Battle of New York.

It was Loki.

The fact that he was there didn't surprise her; he was still Thor's brother, after all, and had probably decided to help in...whatever was going on. Something big, she reasoned, judging by the dirt on both his clothes and Thor's, along with the several cuts and bruises.

No, what surprised her was that he didn't look scary or intimidating. At all. Which made her wonder if it really _was_ him.

She sent Jane a questioning look. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah, that's him." Jane nodded, and Darcy could see the hidden anger in her friend's eyes; obviously she wasn't a fan of the team-up, with good reason though. Especially since Erik was here and still a little...cuckoo from the last encounter with the Trickster God. Typical.

But Darcy turned back to Loki, looked him up and down and realized...she didn't feel any anger towards him. Or any resentment. And seeing his expression, she realized why; he was expecting her to lash out at him. He was expecting her to try and attack him for all he had done. He was expecting her to call him a monster.

Maybe he was. But that was no excuse for her to call him such. Especially when he looked like a kicked puppy. Typical.

Somehow, she saw herself in his eyes. Someone who's never had friends. Someone who's been lonely for most of their life. Someone who only desires to feel wanted. A misfit. A man who's hated for being who he is.

The realization was quick, and Darcy crossed the few steps separating her from Thor. She wanted to make Loki feel that she understood; that she wasn't going to do to him what everyone else had most likely done.

Plus, she'd been staring at his face for most of the moment, because it was a _damn_ good one.

"Thor, why the hell didn't you tell me your brother was that freaking hot?"

The words just fell out, but it was true. Thor was hunky; his face was like an angel's, and his muscles were very well defined. But Loki's face was just... Darcy didn't know how to describe it. The face was most certainly _not_ a typical one.

Looking back at him again, she saw that he was surprised by her words; that surprise changed to confusion as he tried to comprehend what she'd said. Thor as well looked surprised by the statement.

Jane, however, gave her a shove. "Darcy!"

"What? I'm just saying. Come on, even _you_ have to admit it!"

Her friend rolled her eyes, and Darcy noticed with a smirk that it wasn't because she disagreed. Rather, it was because Darcy had blurted out the words without thinking. Meaning Jane thought Loki was hot, too, even if she didn't want to admit it aloud or to herself.

Typical, but sometimes being over-observant was fun.

Before more could be said Erik reappeared – Darcy sighed with relief when she saw that he was wearing pants again – and while the man looked calmer than he had done moments before, he still kept on glancing wearily at Loki. As if he expected the God to take out a hidden sceptre and brainwash him again. Typical, but again, understandable. He thankfully threw himself into his work as he began to explain the convergence.

While Darcy did listen to the explanation for the Convergence – something about their ancestors leaving behind markers for the next one five thousand years ago, and the Stonehenge connection was brought up – she couldn't help but keep stealing glances at Loki. He would notice her every time she did, causing her to quickly turn away...before she stared at him again.

She heard them mention something about Greenwich, but Darcy realized just how distracted she had been when Thor suddenly called his hammer to his hand, ripping it off the coat hanger on the wall, and declared that he would personally put an end to Malekith and his army.

Loki just face-palmed. Darcy hid a laugh. All typical.

Later in the evening, when Thor and Jane were off somewhere being intimate and Erik had locked himself in his room, Darcy found Loki sat on the couch he'd been banished to for the night. She recalled the plan Jane had laid out; specifically, she recalled the part in which she and Loki had to hammer several of Erik's poles into the area around the site.

She could work with the team-up. It was typical of her and Loki to be stuck with each other.

What she couldn't understand was the fact that she felt no anger towards him; yes, she understood it was because she could see herself in him, and felt sympathy for him (those types of villains were the most frustrating, as she was always torn between wanting to kill them and wanting to hug them), but that still didn't take away the things he'd done. He tricked Thor and almost killed him. He tried to destroy an entire race (a race of giant ice monsters, but still). He brainwashed Erik and several others, including the awesome Avenger, Hawkeye. He tried to take over Earth, in the process causing the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands.

It all added up. It joined with her brain in screaming at her to stay away from him, because he was dangerous and she would only end up hurting herself. And yet, Darcy's heart spoke louder; he was like her, and that part of her knew that had she been in the same position, she would have reacted in pretty much the same way. All the hate that had been bottled up over the years had finally exploded out, which had caused a mess too complicated to clean up easily.

But sometimes, she supposed, complicated messes had easy solutions.

So she walked over to him, sat down on the couch, and asked casually, "You wanna hear about the pranks I pulled in college with my friends?" They weren't really her friends, but she couldn't find another word for them at that moment in time. It would have to do.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Mortals are not creative enough to pull a prank worthy of my time."

"Then you've obviously never seen what bored college kids can do."

She told him about the small things first; swapping the cereal packets with the different boxes, swapping the salt and the sugar, putting jam on the ear-piece of their house phone, and placing a cloth on the top of the door so when a tired room-mate woke up in the morning, it would land on their head and they'd be so tired it would take them forever to figure out. This had led her to explain a similar prank in which she'd stretch out cling-film across the door, for yet another tired room-mate to walk into, and then further explained the wonders of the stuff in the classic prank of wrapping it on the toilet seat.

She finished by telling him about the prank she and her room-mates had pulled during her last week at the university; they had borrowed several goats from a local petting zoo, and placed them in random locations around the campus. Some were tied up, while others could wander free. Some ended up chasing teachers while others ate the several worksheets said teachers had spent _hours_ on. Some of the elder teachers had been convinced they were going crazy. The best part about the prank, Darcy recalled, was that upon being found out, she couldn't be punished because she was leaving.

During the telling of the smaller pranks, Loki's eyebrow had only raised higher, and sometimes he had even smirked a little. But upon hearing the goat prank, he burst out laughing.

The laugh wasn't evil. It was a genuine laugh, which showed that he was enjoying himself and had actually found the story funny. It warmed Darcy to know that she'd made him feel better; had made him feel wanted, even if only for that evening.

The next morning they set to work. Darcy rather bravely dumped the several poles into Loki's arms, not wanting to carry them herself, despite knowing what Loki was capable of. The fact that he didn't do anything to her made her hope.

When they were setting up the second-to-last pole, Jane rang and Darcy answered. "We're almost done."

"_OK, hurry up. We don't have much time,_" said Jane. "_And Darcy, please don't try anything...flirty with Loki. I may not be there, but that's no excuse._"

"Yeah, Jane, I know," said Darcy in response.

"_Then why did you-?_"

"Look, he's hot, but he's also evil." Even so, Darcy found herself looking over at him again; he hadn't tried anything with her, and he'd apparently saved Jane's life without any thought of his own. Of course, that didn't mean she should rush into things like Thor and Jane had done; she didn't know the grand total of days the pair had actually _spent_ with each other, but she knew it was under ten. Typical of her friend who didn't know the first thing about dating. Still, it didn't stop Darcy from teasing her. "But if he does something heroic, then I'm not gonna be able to help myself..."

"_Ugh._" Jane hung up. Typical.

Darcy put her phone away before turning to the map Erik had given her, pin-pointing all the spots where the poles needed to be placed. "OK, so you need to put one there." She pointed over to a patch of grass.

"Am I going to be setting up _all_ of them?"

"Yep! Hammer away!" When Loki sent her a glare, Darcy re-ran her words over in her head and cringed when she realized what she'd said. "Yeah, I can see why you would hate that choice of words. Sorry."

Loki only ignored her as he began to hammer the pole into the ground. As he did, Darcy thought she heard the sound of something hitting the water in the river nearby. She at first ignored it, thinking it was only a passing boat (typical London life on a typical London day). But when Loki looked towards the river, Darcy realized that whatever it was, it sounded too large to fit down the Thames.

She looked up. Something invisible was making its way across the river towards them...something large... "Uh...is that...?" She recalled Jane mentioning something about invisible ships, just as said ship appeared.

Darcy wondered how creepy versions of Santa's Little Helpers could create a ship that freaking big. Typical.

The people around them began to scream as they made a run for it, just as the bottom of the ship crashed against the ground and began to drag along it, leaving behind a huge crack. Darcy found herself frozen in fear, her eyes wide as the ship grew closer and closer...

A hand grabbed her arm before dragging her away, and Darcy turned to find that it was Loki. She was able to reach down and grab the last pole he had dropped before relenting to his tugging.

He pulled her with greater strength than anyone of average, and with greater speed. While she could understand how he could do this, she wished he would slow down; she kept on stumbling, her legs working beyond Human ability in order to keep up with him. But turning again to look behind her, she saw that if he slowed down, they would both be crushed. Typical.

Loki finally seemed to realize that running sideways would be more beneficial; he slowed down as he side-stepped, and Darcy was able to catch her breath back (and stretch out her burning legs) as they watched the confrontation from a safe distance. When Malekith and his army left the ship, Thor arrived and prepared for battle.

A battle, Darcy realized, they couldn't win until they got the last pole in. She tugged on Loki's sleeve to get his attention, and he turned to her questioningly. "Come on! We need to get the last one in!" She hurried away, last pole in hand, and behind her she heard Loki follow. At least for now, she assured herself, he was on their side.

With the last pole in the ground, the pair hurried back to the main part of the site while Darcy took out her phone to call Jane. Behind her, she heard Loki say, "I sincerely hope you mortals know what you're doing."

"We're smarter than we look," said Darcy. She heard Jane pick up, and without waiting for any form of greeting, she said, "We're all set, Jane."

"_OK._" There was a moment's pause before one of the menacing Dark Elves disappeared through a portal.

She could practically _hear_ Loki's eyebrows raise. "Impressive."

Darcy herself just cheered. "That was awesome! Again! Get the one with the big gun!" She kept her eyes fixed upon the Elf she had pointed out, waiting for it to disappear just like his comrade had done...but then suddenly she stumbled, and only they did she realized that instead of the Elf, she and Loki had been transported out. A few blocks away, Darcy noticed. "This isn't right."

Things just went to hell after that, in Darcy's opinion anyway. She and Loki ended up getting chased by Dark Elves, which resulted in them ending up all over London – and at one point in Asgard, face to face with Thor's one-eyed Dad.

Typical.

The only bright side was that Thor was having a worse time than they were – the one time she saw him, he was sliding down the Gherkin building with Malekith.

And then, to make matters worse, a giant creature showed up out of nowhere in front of them, and while its attention was on the Dark Elves it was chasing, this didn't stop Darcy from screaming and pulling away from Loki's grip (she only realized he had been dragging her around without question much later). This, in hindsight, was a bad idea, as she ran into a Dark Elf who took aim with his gun and closed in. Darcy backed away, trying not to think about how typical this ending would be for her, how she hadn't been able to tell her parents goodbye, how Jane would miss her...

Suddenly a car slammed down on top of the Elf, and Darcy yelped in surprise.

She turned and saw it had been Loki.

Loki who saved her.

That was _not_ typical _at all_.

"You...you saved me."

She crossed the space between them; he was saying something, but the words were lost to her. Earlier she had only been teasing Jane, but after he had saved her in such a way... He was looking more attractive than ever.

Before she realized what she was doing, Darcy grabbed him by the shoulders, dipped him, before pressing her lips to his.

At first it felt like he was going to push her away. But then he appeared to warm up to it, and kissed her back.

The kiss felt...not typical. But Darcy expected this, having read up on romance a lot, especially over the past two years. The idea of a kiss being magical was, she had to admit, a romanticized theory, but that was all she could describe this one as. Made sense, considering who Loki was.

"_Darcy?!_"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Darcy dropped Loki in surprise as she turned to find Jane and Erik staring at them both in shock. "Jane?!" Somehow they had been transported back to the main site. Typical.

Thor's hammer soared by, and Darcy used it as a distraction. "Mew-Mew?" It worked, and like Darcy suspected, Jane hurried away to find out what had happened to Thor with Erik on her heels. Typical. Again.

Things after that happened rather quickly, at least in Darcy's opinion; Thor was able to use the poles to transport Malekith away and capture the Aether, but the process left him knocked out. She, Jane and Loki attempted to move him when the Dark Elf ship began to crash down, but Erik was able to transport said ship away.

Awkward hugs were shared.

And then the next day, Thor had to go back to Asgard. Leaving Loki behind, sitting uncomfortably at the breakfast table with Darcy, Jane and Erik.

The uncomfortable situation lasted until Thor arrived back, and both Jane and Erik hurried to greet him. Leaving Darcy and Loki alone.

"You gonna go see him?" Darcy asked. Loki and Thor appeared more comfortable around each other, she'd noticed. It was a good thing.

Loki shook his head. "I have seen him most of my life. Let him reunite with his woman."

"Fair enough," she said with a shrug. And then, while uncertain about the answer she would receive... "You sticking around, too?"

He at first looked uncertain. And then he looked thoughtful, debating the question in his head. And then, looking her in the eyes, he smirked. Darcy hadn't know him for very long, but she somehow knew _exactly_ what that meant. He was staying.

She recalled the kiss, but pushed the memory away. That had been a spur of the moment. Before things moved too fast, she knew that she needed to get to know this guy first. It would take time to build friendship; it would take even more time to those around them to forgive Loki for all he had done.

Darcy didn't care about any of this; because feeling wanted by someone – and wanting that someone in return – was all she really needed.


End file.
